Paper and paper-board.



UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIoE,

EDMUND BOUSEK, or WIENER-NEUS'TADT, AUSTRIA-HUNGARY, EXECUTOR F.CHRISTIAN ESSER, DECEASED, ASSIGNOR TO PILGRIM PAPER eoM- I PANY, OF NEWYORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

PAPER AND PAPER-BOARD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 19, 1907.

Application fil d December 20,1905. Serial No. 292,661.

T0 all whom/ it may concern.-

Be it known that CHRISTIAN EssER, de ceased, in his lifetime a residentof Wiener- Neustadt, Austria, and a subject of the Emperor of Austria,previous to his death had invented certain new and useful Improve:merits in Paper or Board, of which I, ED-

' MUND BOUSEK, a resident of Wiener Neu- ,..stadt, Austria, and asubject of the Em eror of Austria, as executor of the last Wii andtestament of. the said CHRISTIAN EssER, pre sent the following full,clear, and exact description.

The invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in paperand paperboard, and has for its object the utilization of peat as a baseor stock.

Numerous attempts have been made to employ this material in themanufacture of paper and paper-board; but they have been more or lessunsuccessful for various reasons, although its cheapness and widedistribution in nature render it a very desirable material if a suitableproduct can be made therefrom at a moderate expense.

As is well known, peat consists of partially decomposed or decayedvegetable growths or plants such as mosses, ferns, grasses, and thelikethe more common plants found in peat being spaghnum, a commonspecies of moss, and eriophorum, a perennial rush-like plant. Peat isseldom homogeneous, how ever, and a very common variety iseriophorospaghnum, a mixture of the two above-mentioned, in which willalso be found partiallydecomposed grasses, twigs, timber, and othervegetable growths. The structure of peat also varies considerablyaccording to its age. In the old peat found at the bottom of tle bog notonly the softer vegetable matter, but the fibers of the plants as well,are often totally destroyed, and this peat is unsuitable for thepurpose. The more recent peat is, however, valuable according to thestrength and texture of its fibers, and in the invention it waspreferred to use recent erioplIoro-spaghnum, as this produces a mostsatisfactory product.

In order to thoroughly understand the present invention it is necessaryto consider briefly the formation of peat and its constitution as foundin its natural state.

As the mosses, ferns, and other plants die down and are superseded bylater growths the bog or swamp in which they have been growing submergesthem and serves as a blanket or preventative of too rapid decomposition.his is not completely accomplished, however, for the ox gen in the watergradually unites with the ead growth, and decomposition or oxidation ofthe mass is gradually brought about, the softer vegetable matters beingattacked first and the cellulose or fibrous portion last. It shouldfibrous character and a web or softer portion of other vegetable matter,which latter surrounds the cellulose or in which the cellulose isembedded. The decomposition or partial decomposition which takes placein the submerged mass attacks the softer vegetable matter first, and itis reduced to 'a gluey sticky gelatinous condition, while stillsurrounding the cellulose and enveloping it unless removed by someexternal action. Should this decomposition continue for an indefiniteperiod, as has been the case with what we have previously described asold peat, the cellulose will also be attacked and in some cases becompletely reduced; but this occurs only after long\ periods, as thecellulose is much harder and successfully resists the decomposing actionlong after the soft vegetable matter has been completely transformed andreduced.

His improved board is one which contains not only all of the cellulosefound in the peat, both the coarse and fine fibers, but contains a largeamount of this softervegetable gelati nous matter above mentioned, andin the finished product the coarser fibers give strength and body .tothe board, and the finer ones serve to felt and assist in binding thesame together, while comparatively large quantities of the softgelatinous matter are present, adl'cring to and enveloping orsurrounding all of the fibers and binding them firmly together.

In preparing the improved board it is necessary that great care'be takenthrough all the steps of the process to preserve and retain thegelatinous matter of the peat, wliich is more or less soluble in waterand easily lost and a method which has been found satisfactory is asfollows:

He takes peat as it is broughtfrom the bog in be understood that allplant life comprises a skeleton or framework of cellulose having a ingpreferably performed upon the turf without floating it in water orwithout subjecting it to any action which would remove the gelatinousmatter normally in the peat. By this operation the individual fibers aresepa rated, and the new faces exposed by the disintegration of thebundles are all smeared and coated with the gelatinous matter, which isforced into the pores of the fibers, and thus -forms a covering orenvelop for'each one.

The gelatinousmatter adheres very strongly to the fibers thus reduced,as their surfaces are very irregular and contain recesses, crev- Y ofthe valuable ingredients to be found inthe ices, projections, &c., towhich the said matter readily adheres, and the sticky nature of thecoating causes the fibers, no matter how minute, to adhere together andto be readily retained. The half-stuff thus obtained is then dilutedwith sufficient water (preferably coldgwater, so as not to dissolve orremove any more of the vegetable matter than can be helped) to float itand is then ready for use. The peat pulp thus produced may then bepumped directly to the stuff-chest or machine-chest of the machine and,run into board without further treatment, although it may be desirableto mix it with a percentage of sulfid or other stock which has beenpreviously reduced to a pulp, the exact amount of this foreign stu'll'varying according to the condition, quality, and strength of the peatfibers and the requirements of the finished product.

When the peat-stock is used in connection .with other stock, the stuffshould be thoroughly intermixed, and for this purpose it is desirablethat the foreign stock be reduced to a pulp, and, together uith thepeat-stock, it may be placed in a beating-engine, which is then set in oeration, although it is desirable that care should be taken that thebeating-roll is not lowered suflicieritly to injuriously affect thecoated peat fibers.

It frequently occurs that the peat will contain a considerable portionof cellulose equivalent to sulfid or other like stock, and if this bereduced-to a pulp it will be found sufficient to give the desiredstrength to the finished product without the addition of extraneous orforeign fiber.

The board of the invention, as will thus be seen, is one which containssubstantially all natural peat, including both the long and shortfibersthat is, substantially all of the cellulose, and in addition thenatural gelatinous or sticky vegetable matter, which is eX- tremelyvaluablein preventing the loss of' minute fibers and which forms anadmirable binderor cementing medium for the entire mass. When producedby the process above described, the gelatinous matter will be foundfirmly adhering to all of'the fibers and filling the recesses andirregularities in the surfaces thereof, thereby effecting the retentionand presence in the finished product of a maximum quantity thereof.

In this specification-I have referred to and described the productobtained as a paperboard, and this is one of the most important forms inwhich the invention may be put to use; but it is obvious that otherequally valuable products may be produced, such as molded products of avery wide variety, and in forming the same it is only necessary that thematerial be compressed into molds of the proper character instead ofrunning the stuff into "board, as above described, and I thereforewishit to be understood that his invention is equally applicable to thislatter character of product.

The board above described will be found to possess the desirablequalities of strength and durability, and in addition thereto it is mothand vermin proof, damp repellent even if unsized, and it is also anon-conductor-of electricity and an excellent insulating material.

By the expression peat fibers in substantially their natural conditionin the claim is meant peat fibers which have not been chemically treatedin such manner as to split them or to dissolve out the gelatinous matternaturally adherent thereto.

Having thus described the invent-ion,what is claimed, and desired to besecuredby Letters Patent, is- I I As an article of manufacture, paperboard or the like containing, in its finished condition, long and shortpeat fibers in substantially their natural condition, bound together bythe gelatinous matter normally contained in the peat, substantially asdescribed. 1

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

- EDMUND- BOUSEK, Executor of the estate of Ohfist'lan Esser, de-

ceased.

Witnessesz' Arvnsro S. HOGUE,

D. LUDWIG BLINK.

